Door operating hinge assembly



March 27, 1962 K. w. BENHAM DOOR OPERATING HINGE ASSEMBLY 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 13, 1958 0 m 5 n w W I Hun.

INVENTOR.

KENT W- BENHAM BY M J Ma ATTORNEY March 27, 1 962 K. w. BENHAM DOOR OPERATING HINGE ASSEMBLY Filed Nov. 15, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

KENT w. BENHAM ATTORN EY March 27, 1962 K. w. BENHAM DOOR OPERATING HINGE ASSEMBLY 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV. 15, 1958 INVENTOR.

K ENT W- BE l-nmn Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q J E l a l1 1; M A? ATTO-RN EY March 27, 1962 K. w. BENHAM DOOR OPERATING HINGE ASSEMBLY Filed Nov". 13, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. ZZZ

F/G- m INVENTOR.

KENT W. BENHAM MJW ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,926,553 Patented Mar. 27, 1962 three 3,026,559 DOOR QPERATTNG HHQGE ASEMBLY Kent W. henham, Gates Mills, (Dhio, assignor to The Sanymetai Products Company, Inc (Iieveland, Ohio, a corporation of @hio Filed Nov. 13, 1958, Ser. No. 773,791 7 Ciaims. (Cl. Lid-182) This invention relates to an improved door operating hinge assembly designed to be substantially concealed within a swinging door structure and operative to auto matically swing the door to the desired residence position. This invention is an improvement over the hinge assemblies disclosed in US. Patents 2,604,653 and 2,604,- 654 of which I am a co-inventor.

Door operating hinge assemblies made in accordance with this invention make use of a stationary pintle rod whose lower end is designed to be fixedly secured to the supporting arm of a hinge bracket positioned adjacent the lower rear corner of the door and on which the weight of the door is supported. The door body itself has a corner bracket secured to the rear lower corner thereof which presents a bearing block having a bore through which the. pintle rod extends. The door is swingably mounted on a thrust bearing supported from the supporting arm of the hinge bracket, and may seat on a retainer ring clamped to the pintle rod. The pintle rod supports a fixed cam member having an axial bore through which the pintle rod extends. The fixed cam member presents a cam track at the upper end thereof which is inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the pintle rod extending therethrough. This cam track may be substantially continuous, with its valley portion positioned substantially diametrically opposite the peak portion thereof.

An important feature of this invention is the provision of a riding cam member which presents an inverted cam track which is complementary to, and designed to ride on, the cam track of the fixed cam member. The complementary cam track of the riding cam member is also inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the pintle rod extending therethrough, and presents an inverted peak portion and an inverted valley portion complementary to the valley portion and peak portion of the cam track associated with the fixed cam member. The opposite outer side faces of the riding cam member present smooth slide surfaces designed to make sliding contact with adjacent inside surfaces provided within the door body, so that swinging movement of the door will correspondingly swing or rotate the riding cam member so as to cause the inverted and complementary cam track of the riding cam member to slide over the adjacent cam track of the fixed cam member. A resilient loading force is applied to the riding cam member to maintain its cam track in sliding engagement with the cam track of the fixed cam member. The loading force may be applied to the riding cam member by the use of a helical compression spring whose lower end seats against a base washer resting on the upper end of the riding cam member, the helical spring being maintained under compression by head washer and a retaining ring clamped to the upper end of the pintle rod.

When the door is in residence position, the fixed cam member and the riding cam member are so inter-related that the inverted peak portion of the riding cam track is-in residence contact with the valley portion of the fixed cam track. The door is then held in residence position by the downward pressure exerted on the riding cam member by the helical compression spring. In normal usage, this residence position would correspond to the desired closed position of the door. When the door is forcibly swung in either an inward or outward direction and from its normal residence position, one of the slide surfaces Within the door body exerts swinging pressure on the adjacent slide face of the riding cam member so as to correspondingly rotate the riding cam member against the force of the compression spring, so that the inverted peak portion of the riding cam track will ride upwardly over the upwardly inclined cam surface of the fixed cam track, forcing the riding cam member to move upwardly and further compress the helical spring. When the door is released, the energy stored in the compressed helical spring drives the riding cam member downwardly, causing the riding cam member to rotate in the opposite direction so that one of its slide faces exerts a corresponding swinging force against the adjacent interior slide surface of the door body, thereby automatically swinging the door back to residence position, which position is reached when the inverted pea portion of the riding cam track again returns to the valley portion of the fixed cam track.

While the fixed cam member and the riding cam member may both be made of metal with smooth camrning surfaces, it is desirable to reduce sliding friction by coating the camming surfaces with a suitable lubricant, or otherwise surfacing the camming faces with a material having a low co-eflicient of friction. Preferably, however, either or both cam members can be inexpensively cast from atough and durable plastic, such as nylon, which has a low co-eflicient of surface friction. When the rid-ing cam member is cast from a material such as nylon, the smooth outer side faces thereof will smoothly slide with minimum friction over the adjacent interior slide surfaces of the sheet metal side wall panels of the door body. By making both the fixed cam member and riding cam member from a strong and tough plastic material having a low coeflicient of surface friction, these cam members may be separately cast into integral form at low cost with minimum machining of the slide surfaces thereof. When thus made, the inverted cam track of the riding cam member will ride over the cam track of the fixed cam member, and the parallel slide faces of the riding cam member will slide over the adjacent interior metal faces of the door body without binding and with minimum friction.

The riding cam member may be provided with a downwardly extending skirt section which embraces the cylindrical outer wall of the fixed cam member so that thefixed cam member serves as a journal for the rotatable riding cam member. Both cam members have aligned bores therein through which the shank extension of the pintle rod projects. The riding cam member may also have a pair of horizontal ribs extending at right angles to the parallel slide faces thereof, which reinforce the riding cam member and serve as spacers for the proper location of the hinge assembly within the hollow receiving pocket formed in the door body.

Door operating hinge assemblies made in accordance with this invention permit the door to swing either inwardly or outwardly as desired in the same horizontal plane, and without vertical movement of the door when swung to or from closed or open position. This door operating hinge assembly operates to return the door from forcibly opened position to the desired closed or residence position, and the assembly is so designed that it can be used to support and operate either left-hand or right-hand swinging doors Without change in the structure of the hinge assembly. This improved door operating hinge assembly is also compactly designed, occupies minimal space within the door body, is made of relatively few parts, can be easily assembled and installed within the door to form a part thereof, and which permits convenient field mounting of the door in use position on the supporting arm of the hinge bracket attached to the pilaster. This door operating hinge'assembly. is also a) relatively inexpensive to manufacture, is permanently concealed within and protected by the door body, is substantially fool proof in operation, and has a useful life equivalent to the life of the door itself.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the disclosure proceeds.

Although the characteristic features of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself, and the manner in which it may be carried out, may be better understood by referring to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, in which:

FIG. I is an elevational view of a door and the adjacent door supporting pilaster having the improved door operating hinge assembly of this invention incorporated therewith;

FIG. II is a diagrammatic plan view of a door and a section of the adjacent supporting pilaster, and which illustrates the swinging movement of the door in either inward or outward direction when the door operating hinge assembly of this invention is incorporated therewith;

FIG. III is a fragmentary longitudinal section through the door as the same would appear when viewed along line III-III of FIG. I and which shows certain parts of the door and the door operating hinge assembly as contained therein;

FIG. IV is an exploded perspective view of the lower rear corner of the door and associated door corner bracket as the same appears prior to insertion of the hinge assembly into the door body and attachment of the corner bracket thereto;

FIG. V is a fragmentary transverse section of the door body which illustrates further details of the construction of the door body as the same would appear when viewed along any one of the lines VV of FIG. I;

FIG. VI is an elevational view of the door operating hinge assembly in association with the lower rear corner bracket of the door and the door supporting hinge bracket;

FIG. VII is a vertical section showing further details of the hinge assembly, hinge bracket, door corner bracket and adjacent portions of the door body;

FIG. VIII is an enlarged fragmentary section showing further details of the hinge assembly, hinge bracket, door corner bracket and adjacent portions of the door body as the same would appear when the door has been swung approximately ninety degrees from its residence position as shown in FIG. VII;

FIG. IX is an enlarged detail of the lower end of the pintle rod and the door supporting thrust hearing as mounted thereon;

FIG. IXA is an enlarged detail of the lower end of the pintle rod having a modified form of door supporting thrust bearing mounted thereon;

FIG. X is a fragmentary transverse section of the hinge assembly as it would appear when viewed along line X-X of FIG. VIII;

FIG. XI is a vertical section through the cooperating fixed cam member and riding cam member as they would appear when the riding cam member is in its lowermost position;

FIG. XII is an elevational view of the fixed cam member and a sectional view of the riding cam member as assembled in cooperative relationship, with the riding cam member shown in elevated position;

FIG. XIII is a bottom plan view of the fixed cam member and riding cam member, adjacent portions of the door side wall panels being shown in section;

FIG. XIV is a vertical section of the riding cam member;

FIG. XV is an elevational view of the fixed cam member which telescopes into the riding cam member shown in FIG. XIV;

FIG. XVI is a top plan view of the fixed cam member shown in FIG. XV;

FIG. XVII is a bottom plan view of the fixed cam member shown in FIG. XV;

FIG. XVIII is a perspective view of the fixed cam member and the cooperating riding cam member in the relationship they would appear when the riding cam member is in maximum raised position, the riding cam member being shown partially in section; and

FIG. XIX is a top plan view of the riding cam member, adjacent portions of the side Wall panels being shown in phantom lines.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings and the specification.

The door operating hinge assembly of this invention is designed for association with a corner bracket which is fixed to the lower rear corner of a door A. The weight of the door is supported by a laterally projecting arm 24 of a hinge bracket fixed to a supporting pilaster B. The hinge assembly includes a stationary pintle rod which is fixed to the supporting arm 24 of the hinge bracket, extends through the door corner bracket 10, and into a pocket or cavity 5' within the door. The door body and its attached corner bracket 10 is swingably supported on a thrust bearing unit which may be of the ball bearing type, and which is in turn supported by the stationary pintle rod 39 from the hinge bracket supporting arm 24. The pintle rod 30 also supports a fixed cam member 40 presenting an inclined cam track 42 which cooperates with the inverted cam track 48 of a riding cam member 45. The riding cam member presents parallel outer slide faces 49 which make sliding contact with interior slide surfaces presented by the door body. The riding cam member 45 is maintained in pressure riding engagement with the fixed cam member 40 by means of a helical compression spring 50 and which provides the swinging force operating to automatically move the door from forcibly opened to closed or residence position.

The door operating hinge assembly of this invention is particularly designed for association with a hollow metal door A which may be advantageously formed of a pair of spaced sheet metal facing panels 11 as shown in FIGS. I, III, IV and V which provide the side facings for the door. The facing panels 1--1 are separated and reinforced by a sound insulating core 5 which may be composed of a treated paperboard or honey comb core, a Fiberglas slab, or foamed plastic of satisfactory insulating quality and of sufiicient hardness to provide backing reinforcement for-the sheet metal facing panels 1--1 The top and bottom edges and the front and rear side edges of the door body may be formed by paired flange portions 22 integral with the facing panels 11, the paired flange portions 2-2 terminating in outwardly flared lip portions 3-3 as shown in FIGS. III and V. The facing panels 11 may be permanently secured together after the insulating core 5 has been positioned therebetween by a series of spot or are welds 4 placed in the valley defined by the adjacent outturned lip portions 33. The horizontal top and bottom edges and the vertical front and rear edges of the door body may be given a finished appearance by the application of semitubular edging strips 6, each presenting a curvilinear facing section 7 and inturned flange sections 8 which may be endwise telescoped over the paired outturned lip portions 3-3 of the door body to interlock therewith, the adjacent meeting ends of the edging strips 6 at the door corners being mitre cut to provide finished corner joints.

The lower rear corner of the facing panels 1-1 are partly cut away as shown in FIG. IV and covered by a lower corner bracket 10. The lower corner bracket 10 presents a vertical leg 11 having a flat inside face 11' as shown in FIG. VII and a lip extension 11" of curvilinear form into which the adjacent lower end of the rear edging strip 6 may telescope. The lower corner bracket 10 also presents an inset horizontal leg section 12 presenting a relatively flat outer face 12' which is joined to an outset leg section 13 by a connecting and curvilinear shaped hip section 14. The inner face 13 of the outset leg section 13 is relatively flat and terminates in an olfset lip extension 13" into which the adjacent end of the horizontal edging strip 6 may telescope as shown in FIG. VII.

The vertical leg section 11, inset horizontal leg section 12, the hip section 14 and outset horizontal leg section 13 are joined by a pair of side flanges 15 which telescope over the adjacent portions of the facing panels 1-1 of the door body as shown in FIG. III. The inside face of the horizontal inset leg section 12 presents an inner journal block 16 which may be formed as an integral part of the corner bracket 10. The journal block 16 has a pintle rod receiving bore extending therethrough which is surfaced by a self-lubricating bearing bushing or sleeve 17. The journal block 16 and the inset leg section 12 together present an external bearing pocket 16 into which a door supporting thrust bearing unit 35 or 35a is contained.

Securement of the lower corner bracket 10 to the door body is effected by cutting away a part of the adjacent ends of the rear edge flange portions 2-2 of the door body as shown in FIG. IV so as to leave flange elements 22' with no associated outturned lip portions, so that the flange elements 2'2' together present a flat outer face designed to flatly seat against the flat inside face 11' of the vertical leg section 11 of the corner bracket. A lock nut 18 may then be telescoped over the flange elements 22 as shown in FIGS. IV and VII and a lock screw 19 inserted through an appropriate hole in the vertical leg section 11 of the bracket and threaded into the hole of the adjacent lock nut 18 so as to thereby clamp the lock out 18 to the flange elements 2'2 and secure the vertical bracket leg section 11 to the rear edge of the door, with the adjacent end of the vertical edging strip 6 telescoped into the pocket defined by the curvilinear lip extension 11" of the corner bracket 10.

The outset leg section 13 of the corner bracket 10 is also secured to the lower horizontal edge of the door by likewise cutting away the adjacent lip portions 33 and parts of the horizontal flange portions 2-2 so as to provide flat faced flange elements 2-2'. A lock nut 18 may then be telescoped over the adjacent flange elements 2-2 and a lock screw 19 inserted through a hole in the outset leg section 13 of the bracket and through the threading hole in the lock nut 18 to thereby rigidly secure the lock nut 18 to the flange elements 2'-2 and to also secure the outset leg section 13 of the bracket to the door body, with the adjacent end of the lower horizontal edging strip 6 pocketed within the curvilinear lip extension 13" of the bracket.

The post of pilaster B on which the door A is swingably supported, may be a solid or hollow post or member, or in the form of a sound insulated hollow metal post presenting sheet metal facing panels and constructed similar to the door A as above described. The supporting pilaster B supports a lower hinge bracket 20 as shown in FIGS. I, VI and VII which may present side flange portions 21 secured to the pilaster body as by securing bolts 21, and which also present an edge facing portion 22 from which a door supporting arm 24 extends.

The supporting pilaster B also has a suitable upper hinge bracket 25 of any desired construction secured thereto The hinge bracket 25 may present side flange portions 26 secured to the pilaster B by bolts 26', and a pilaster edge facing portion, from which a door hinging arm 27 extends. The hinging arm 27 of the upper hinge bracket may be pivotally connected to the upper end of the door in any desired manner. As shown for purposes of illustration in FIG. I, the door hinging arm 27 of the upper hinge bracket 25 may extend into an insert frame 28 which is set within a notch formed in the rear vertical edge of the door and rigidly secured thereto, the insert frame 28 presenting spaced upper and lower frame sections 28'. An upper hinge pin 2? is inserted through the upper horizontal edge of the door and through bearing forming bushings associated with the spaced upper and lower sections 28' of the insert frame 28 and the intervening hinging arm 27 of the upper hinge bracket 25. The upper hinge pin 29 should be so mounted that it is in axial alignment with the lower pintle rod 3% which extends into the door body and is fixedly but adjustably secured to the supporting arm 24 of the lower hinge bracket 20.

The pintle rod 3dr has a tapered end portion 31 whose surface is ribbed or roughened as shown in FIG. IX to seat within a corresponding tapered hole in the supporting arm 24* of the lower hinge bracket 24 The projecting end extremity of the pintle rod is threaded to receive a lock nut 32 designed to rigidly secure the pintle rod 30 in fixed position to the bracket supporting arm 24. The pintle rod 3t} also presents a neck section 33 directly above the tapered end portion 31 thereof which is embraced by a thrust bearing unit 35 whose stationary lower race 35 seats on a fixed retainer ring 36 clamped into a circumferential groove formed in the pintle rod 30. The thrust bearing unit 35 seats within the external bearing pocket 16' of the lower corner bracket it? and its upper bearing race 35" is designed to rotate about the pintle rod 30 on the bearing balls pocketed between the lower bearing race 35 and the upper bearing race 35", as shown in FIG. IX.

The thrust bearing 35 may be held in proper position on the neck section 33 of the pintle rod by providing the neck section 33 with an outwardly flared shoulder 33' against which a corresponding inset shoulder formed in the upper bearing race 35" is designed to abut when the retainer ring 36 is clamped into the circumferential groove of the pintle rod, as shown in FIG. IX. The lower and upper bearing races 35' and 35" of the thrust bearing unit are maintained in assembled relation by an assembly cup presenting an inturned flange portion 37 designed to seat against the upper face of the upper hearing race 35", and which presents a depending cylindrical skirt 37 in loosely fitted surrounding relation to the lower and upper bearing races 35' and 35".

The pintle rod 30 also presents an enlarged diameter secondary neck section 34 which extends through the self-lubricating bearing bushing 17 set within the pintle bore of the journal block 16 of the door corner bracket 10. The underface of the journal block 1-6 and the bear ing bushing 17 are designed to seat on the inturned flange portion 37 of the bearing assembly cup, and which in turn seats on the upper bearing race 35" of the thrust bearing unit 35. The entire door and its lower corner bracket 10 is thus supported by the thrust bearing unit 35 which is in turn supported by the retainer ring 36 fixed to the pintle rod 30, supported by the fixed arm 24 of the hinge bracket 2%. The lower corner bracket 10 attached to the door body is journaled to smoothly swing or rotate on the secondary neck section 34 of the pintle rod with minimum friction and without vibration by reason of the self-lubricating bearing bushing 17 and bearing assembly 35.

FIG. IXA discloses a modified form of thrust bearing 35a which presents a fixed lower race 35b and a rotatable upper race 350, at least one and preferably both races 35]) and 350 being formed from a tough and wearresistant plastic having a low co-eflicient of surface friction, such as nylon and the like. The fixed lower race 35b seats on the clamp ring 36 and the adjacent bearing surfaces 35d of the races 35b and 350 are smooth and polished so that the upper race 35c freely rotates on the lower race 35!) substantially without friction. The upper race 350 may have a bearing sleeve extension 35e formed integral therewith which is tightly driven into the bore of the journal block 16 of the lower door corner bracket 10. The upper race 35c presents a shoulder 35 which provides seating support for the journal block 16. The upper race 35c and its journal sleeve 35:? swmgably rotate on the neck section 34 of the fixed pintle rod 39 with the swinging movement of the door.

The pintle rod 30 presents an enlarged body section 33 which may be positioned directly above the secondary neck section 34 and which may be polygonal in crosssection. The body section 38 of the pintle rod provides a nonrotatable support for the fixed cam member 46 which is telescoped thereover. The pintie rod also presents a shank extension 39 projecting above the body section 33 and extending through the axial bore of the fixed cam me'nber 4t; and the axially aligned bore of the inverted riding cam member 45. The upper portion of the shank extension 39 projects through a compression spring 50 designed to apply resilient downward pressure on the riding cam member 45.

The fixed cam member 4 shown more particularly in FIGS. III, VII, VIII, X, XVIII and XV, is generally cylindrical in form and presents a cylindrical outer wall 41. The upper end of the cylindrical outer wall 41 presents a continuous cam track 42 which is inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the outer wall 41 to present a peak portion 42 and a diametrically opposite valley portion 42. The other end of the fixed cam member as has a polygonal bore 43 shaped to provide a receiving pocket for the polygonal shaped body section 33 of the pintle rod 30. An axial bore 43' extends from the polygonal bore 43 through the upper cam track end of the fixed cam member 40 and receives the shaft extension 39 of the pintle rod 30. The fixed member 46 can be telescoped over the shank extension 39 of the pintle rod, and with polygonal bore 43 thereof snugly telescoped over the polygonal body section 38 of the pintle rod which then supports the fixed cam member 4 in nonrotative position.

The riding cam member 45, shown in FIGS. III, VI, VII, Viil, XI, XII, XVIII and XIV, presents a head section 46 and depending skirt section 47 which has a cylindrical bore 4'7 designed to telescope over the cylindrical outer wall 41 of the fixed cam member 40. The head section 46 presents a continuous internal cam track 48 which is complementary to the cam track 42 of the fixed cam member 4-0 and designed to seat thereon. The internal cam track 48 of the riding cam member 45 presents a pet portion 43 and a diametrically opposite valley portion 48". The riding cam member 45 is designed to rotate on the fixed cam member 40' both clockwise and counter-clockwise from lowermost position as shown in FIG. XI and to and from its maximum elevated position as shown in FIG. XII. When the riding cam member 45 is in its lowermost position as shown in FIGS. VII and XI, the peak portion 48 of the riding cam member 45 will be seated within the valley portion 42 of the fixed cam member 40, and when the riding cam member 45 is in maximum elevated position, as shown in FIGS. XII and XVIII, its peak portion 48 will rest on the peak portion 42' of the fixed cam member 40.

The riding cam member 45 has a reduced diameter bore 46 which is maintained at all times in axial alignment with the receiving bore 43' of the fixed cam member 40, by the shank extension 39 of the pintle rod 30 extending therethrough, but the rider cam member 45 is nevertheless free to rotate and reciprocate on the shank extension 39 of the pintle rod 30. The opposite outer side faces 49 of the head section 46 and skirt section 47 of the rotatable cam member 45 present smooth and parallel faces designed to vertically slide along the adjacent smooth inside face portions 1--1' of the sheet metal facing panels 11 of the door body. The cam member 45 is automatically rotated with the swinging movement of the door.

The fixed cam member 40 as well as the inverted riding cam member 45 can be advantageously molded from a tough and strong plastic having a low co-eificient of surface friction, such as molded nylon plastic. A brand of nylon plastic particularly adapted for this purpose is known commercially as Zytel plastic. The fixed cam member 40 and the rotatable cam member 45 may each be integrally cast, and the continuous cam track 42 of the fixed cam member 40 and the continuous cam track 48 of the riding cam member '45 may be cast sufficiently smooth so that the riding cam track 48 will slide over the fixed cam track 42 substantially without friction. The opposite side faces 49 of the riding cam member 45 are also made smooth so that the riding cam member 45 will smoothly slide over the adjacent inside surface portions I1' of the door panel facing sheets 1-'1 substantially without friction. Likewise, the cylindrical bore 47 of the skirt section 47 of the rotatable cam member 45, and the adjacent external surface of the cylindrical wall 41 of the fixed cam member 40, can be made sufiiciently smooth so that the skirt section 47 of the riding cam member 45 will freely rotate and reciprocate over the outer wall 41 of the fixed cam member 40 substantially without friction.

To further strengthen the riding cam member 45, a pair of diametrically opposed and horizontally extending spacer ribs 49' may be integrally formed thereon to extend at right angles to the parallel slide faces 49 thereof. The spacer ribs 49', in addition to strengthening the slidable carn member 45, serve to facilitate proper spacing of the riding cam member 45 with respect to the adjacent vertical flange portions 2-2 of the door facing panels 1-1 as shown in FIG VII.

The internal cam track 48 of the riding cam member 45 is maintained at all times in pressure-riding contact with the cam track 42 of the fixed cam member 40 by the application of resilient downward pressure on the nding cam member Resilient downward pressure on the riding cam member 45 may be effected by the use of a helical compression spring 50 which is telescoped over the shank extension 39 of the pintle rod as shown in FIGS. III, VI and VII. The lower end of the compression spring 59 seats against a base washer 51 designed to flatly seat against the upper fiat end of the riding cam member i5. A head washer 52 seats against the upper end of the helical compression spring so, and the spring 1s maintained under compression by a retainer ring 53 which is snapped into a circumferential groove formed at the upper end of the shank extension 39 of the pintle rod and seats against the head washer 52. The compression spring 50, the base washer 51, the head washer 52 and the retainer ring 53, are designed to rotate as a unit with the rotative movement of the riding cam member 45.

The helical spring 54} is under compression at all times, but is least compressed when the riding cam member 45 is in its lowermost position which would be the case when the door is closed and the valley portion 48" of the riding cam member 45 is in seating relation to the peak portion 42 of the fixed cam member 40. The helical spring 50 is under maximum compression when the door is swung 180 to maximum open position, when the peak portion 48 of the riding cam member 45 seats on the peak portion 42 of the fixed cam member 40 as indicated in FIG. XII. When the door is swung to an approximate open position as shown in FIG. VIII, the helical compression spring 50 will be intermediately compressed and the peak portion 48 of the riding cam member 45 will be seated against the fixed cam track 42 at a point intermediately between the peak portion 42 and the valley portion 4?." thereof.

In manufacture, the fixed cam member 40 is first telescoped over the shank extension 39 of the pintle rod and brought into fixed seating position on the polygonal body section 38 of the pintle rod. The riding cam member 45 is then telescoped over the upper end of the shank extension 39 and the skirt section 47 thereof telescoped over the cylindrical outer wall 41 of the fixed cam member 40, and then rotated so that the valley portion 48 of its inverted cam track 48 seats against the peak portion 42' of the cam track 42 of the fixed cam member 40. The base washer 51 isthen telescoped over the shank extension 39, the helical spring 50 then telescoped over the shank extension 39, the head washer 52 applied and the helical spring suificiently compressed to permit application of the retainer ring 53 which is clamped to seat within the circular groove formed in the upper end of the shank extension 39.

The lower end portion of the pintle rod is then assembled to the door corner bracket 10 by inserting its secondary neck section 34 through the self-lubricating bushing 17 mounted within the journal block 16 of the corner bracket. The thrust bearing unit 35 is then telescoped over the lower end of the pintle rod until the flared shoulder 33' of the pintle rod 30 seats against the conforming shoulder formed in the upper bearing race 35" of the thrust bearing unit. The retainer ring 36 is then telescoped over the lower end of the pintle rod to abut the lower face of the thrust bearing unit 35 and then snapped into the adjacent circumferential groove of the pintle rod.

Where a nylon type of thrust bearing 35a as shown in FIG. IXA is employed, the sleeve extension 35a of the upper race 350 is first driven into the bore of the bracket journal block 16. The neck section 34 of the pintle rod is then inserted into the sleeve extension 352 until the flared shoulder 33 of the pintle rod is positioned adjacent the conforming shoulder presented by the upper race 35c. The lower race 35b is then applied and the retainer ring snapped into gripping engagement with the adjacent circumferential groove of the pintle rod.

- Upon completion of the assembly of the pintle rod 34) and its associated helical spring 50, the fixed cam member 40 and riding cam member 45 in mounted relation to the door corner bracket 10 as above described, the shank extension 39 of the pintle rod 30.

The associated helical spring 50, fixed cam member 40 and riding cam member 45 are then telescoped as a unit into an unobstructed pocket adjacent the lower rear corner of the door body which is defined by the surrounding insulating core 5. When telescoped into the door body, the riding cam member 45 is in its lowermost position and its parallel slide faces 49 are in fiat sliding contact with the interior facing portions 11 of the metal facing panels 11 of the door body. The spacer rib 49 which is adjacent to the rear vertical edge of the door will slide along the inside faces of the inturned flange portions 22 of the door facing panels 1-1, which further insures proper location of the door operating hinge assembly within the door body. After application of the lock nuts 18 to the adjacent flange elements 2'2' of the door panel facing sheets 1-I as shown in FIGS. IV and VII, the door corner bracket is adjusted in position and secured to the door body by the application of the lock screws 19. The completed door body, with the door operating hinge assembly and associated door corner bracket 10 there-to attached, is then ready for shipment from the factory to the erection location.

In mounting the door at the erection location, the door supporting pilaster B with the lower hinge bracket 20 and upper hinge bracket 25- secured thereto, is first erected and secured either to the building floor or the building ceiling. The tapered end portion 31 of the pintle rod 3ft associated with the door to be erected, is then inserted in the tapered receiving hole formed in the supporting arm 24 of the lower hinge bracket 20; which insertion is made when the door is in its normally closed or residence position. The lock nut 32 is then applied to the threaded projecting end of the pintle rod 30, and when tightened, the'vertical ribs formed on the tapered end portion 31 of the pintle rod will grip the side walls of the tapered bore of the supporting arm 24 so that the pintle rod 30 is thereafter held immovable and stationary.

The door is maintained in its normal residence or closed position by the downward pressure exerted by the helical compression spring 50 on the riding cam member 45, which loading pressure serves to maintain the riding cam member 45 in its lowermost position with the valley portion 48 of its cam track 48 seating against the peak portion 42' of the fixed cam track 42. When the door is forcibly swung to open position in either direction against the loading force of the compression spring 50 the interior slide surfaces 1'1' of the door panel facing sheets 1-1 will exert corresponding pressure against the adjacent slide faces 49 of the riding cam member 45 which will correspondingly rotate the riding cam member 45 and cause the peak portion 48' of the riding cam member 45 to ride upwardly on the fixed cam track 42 and toward the peak portion 42 thereof thereby driving the riding cam member upwardly to further compress the helical spring 50. When the open door is released, the compressed helical spring will exert suificient downward pressure on the riding cam member 45 to cause it to rotate and return to residence position, thereby causing one of the parallel side faces 49 of the riding cam member 45 to exert swinging pressure against one of the interior slide surface portions 1-1 of the door panel facing sheets until the door has been returned to residence position.

The cooperating cam members 40 and 45 of this invention are so made and constructed as to permit swinging movement of the door a full 180 in an outward direction, or a full 180 in an inward direction. To main-' tain the door in 180 open position, the peak portion 42' of the fixed cam member 40 may present a flattened top surface so that the peak portion 48' of the riding cam member 45 will reside in seated position there-against until the door is disturbed. This may be of advantage when it is desired to inswing or outswing the door a full 180 to facilitate cleaning the cubicle of which the door forms a part.

When the door is swung from closed residence position to an open position of approximately the door side wall panels 1-1 will rotate the riding cam member 45 a corresponding number of degrees, in which case the peak portion 48' of the riding cam track 43 will move from the valley portion 42" upwardly along the fixed cam track 42 to a point between the peak portion 42 and the valley portion 4 thereof. Upon release, the door will return to closed position. However, the door may be given a residence position when the door is in a 90 open position by providing the fixed cam track 42 with a relatively flat track portion intermittently between the peak portion 42 and the valley portion 42" thereof.

-When the cam tracks 42 and 48 are formed as shown in FIGS. XII and XV, the door will automatically swing to closed position when forcibly swung open and released.

While certain novel features of this invention have been disclosed herein and are pointed out in the claims, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions, and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A door combination presenting a door body having side wall forming facing panels secured together in spaced relationship by vertical and horizontal edge portions, and a door operating hinge assembly detachably secured to the door body, said door operating hinge assembly including; a corner reinforcing bracket having a vertical leg embracing the rear vertical edge of the door body, a horizontal leg integral with said vertical leg and presenting a horizontal web and a pair of spaced side flange portions embracing therebetween adjacent portions of said spaced facing panels, means for detachably securing the vertical and horizontal legs of said corner bracket to the door body, and a boss portion integral with said horizontal leg and extending into the door body between said spaced facing panels, said boss portion having a pintle rod receiving bore whose outer end merges into an enlarged bearing receiving pocket axially aiigned with said bore; a pintle rod having a shank extending through said bearing pocket and bore and into the body of the door between said facing panels and presenting an attaching end portion extending outwardly of said bearing pocket; a thrust bearing contained in said bearing pocket and designed to swingably support the corner bracket and associated door body, and means fixed to said pintle rod for supporting said thrust bearing; a cam member contained within the door body and fixed to said pintle rod and presenting an upwardly facing cam track; a riding cam member positioned within the door body and presenting a downwardly facing cam track designed for sliding contact with the cam track of said fixed cam member, said riding cam member being swingably and reciprocably mounted on said pintle rod and presenting opposite fiat side faces positioned to make sliding contact with the adjacent inner surface portions of the facing panels of the door body; a rearwardly projecting spacer rib positioned in guiding relation to the adjacent inner surface of the vertical edge portion of the door body; and means within the door body for applying a camming load on said riding cam member sufficient to effect swinging movement of the door to predetermined residence position.

2. A door combination presenting a door body having side wall forming facing panels secured together in spaced relationship by vertical and horizontal edge portions, and a door operating hinge assembly detachably secured to the door body, said door operating hingle assembly including; a corner reinforcing bracket having a vertical leg embracing the rear vertical edge of the door body, a horizontal leg integral with said vertical leg and presenting a horizontal web and a pair of spaced side flange portions overlapping adjacent portions of said spaced facing panels, means for detachably securing the vertical and horizontal legs of said corner bracket to the door body, and a boss portion integral with said horizontal leg and extending into the door body between said spaced facing panels, said boss portion having a pintle rod receiving bore whose outer end merges into an enlarged bearing receiving pocket axially aligned with said bore; a pintle rod having a shank extending through said bearing pocket and bore and into the body of the door between said facing panels and presenting an outer end portion extending outwardly of said bearing pocket; a thrust bearing contained in said bearing pocket and designed to swingably support the corner bracket and associated door body, and means fixed to said pintle rod for supporting said thrust bearing; a cam member contained within the door body and presenting an upwardly facing cam track, said cam member having an axial bore through which said pintle rod extends and a polygonal shaped cavity which pockets a corresponding polygonal shaped body section presented by said pintle rod which thereby supports said cam member in fixed position; a riding cam member positioned within the door body and presenting a downwardly facing cam track designed for sliding contact with the cam track of said fixed cam member, said riding cam member being swingably and reciprocably mounted on said pintle rod and presenting opposite flat side faces positioned to make sliding contact with the adjacent inner surface portions of the facing panels of the door body, said riding cam member being formed from a tough and wear-resistant plastic compound having a low co-eflicient of surface friction; and a helical compression spring telescoped over said pintle rod and operative to apply a camming load on said riding cam member sufficient to effect swinging movement of the door to predetermined residence position.

3. A door combination presenting a door body having side Wall forming facing panels secured together in spaced relationship by vertical and horizontal edge portions, and a door operating hinge assembly detachably secured to the door body, said door operating hinge assembly including; a corner reinforcing bracket having a rear vertical leg and a horizontal leg integral with said vertical leg and presenting a horizontal web and a pair of spaced side flange portions overlapping adjacent portions of said facing panels, means for detachably securing the vertical and horizontal legs of said corner bracket to adjacent vertical and horizontal edge portions of the door body, and a boss portion integral with said horizontal leg and extending into the door body between said spaced facing panels and having a pintle rod receiving bore; a pintle rod having a shank extending through said bore and between the facing panels of the door body and presenting an outer end portion extending outwardly from said bore; a cam member contained within the door body and fixed to said pintle rod and presenting an upwardly facing cam track; a riding cam member contained within the door body and presenting a downwardly facing cam track designed for sliding contact with the cam track of said fixed cam member, said riding cam member being swingably and reciprocably mounted on said pintle rod and presenting opposite flat side faces positioned to make sliding contact with adjacent inner surface portions of the facing panels of the door body; and means within the door body for applying a camming load to said riding cam member sufficient to effect swinging movement of the door to predetermined residence position.

4. A door combination presenting a door body having side wall forming facing panels secured together in spaced relationship by vertical and horizontal edge portions, and a door operating hinge assembly detachably secured to the door body, said door operating hinge assembly including; a corner reinforcing bracket having a rear vertical leg and a horizontal leg integral with said vertical leg and presenting a horizontal web and a pair of spaced side flange portions overlapping adjacent portions of said facing panels, means for detachably securing the vertical and horizontal legs of said corner bracket to adjacent vertical and horizontal edge portions of the door body, and a boss portion integral with said horizontal leg and extending into the door body between said spaced facing panels and having a pintle rod receiving bore; a pintle rod having a shank extending through said bore and between the facing panels of the door body and presenting an outer end portion extending outwardly from said bore; a cam member contained within the door body and fixed to said pintle rod and presenting an upwardly facing cam track; a riding cam member contained within the door body and presenting a downwardly facing cam track designed for sliding contact with the cam track of said fixed cam member, said riding cam member being swingably and reciprocably mounted on said pintle rod and presenting opposite flat side faces positioned to make sliding contact with adjacent inner surface portions of the facing panels of the door body; and means within the door body for applying a camming load to said riding cam member sufiicient to effect swinging movement of the door to predetermined residence position; each of said cam members being integrally cast from a tough and wear-resistant compound having a low co-efficient of surface friction.

5. A door combination presenting a door body having side wall forming facing panels secured together in spaced relationship by vertical and horizontal edge portions, and a door operating hinge assembly detachably secured to the door body, said door operating hinge assembly including; a corner reinforcing bracket having a rear vertical leg and a horizontal leg integral with said vertical leg and presenting a horizontal web and a pair of spaced side flange portions, means for detachably securing the vertical and horizontal legs of said corner bracket to adjacent vertical and horizontal edge portions of the door body,

and a boss portion integral with said horizontal leg and extending into the door body between said spaced facing panels and having a pintle rod receiving bore; a pintle rod having a shank extending through said bore and between the facing panels of the door body and presenting an outer end portion extending outwardly from said bore; a cam member contained within the door body and fixed to said pintle rod and presenting an upwardly facing cam track; a riding cam member contained within the door body and presenting a downwardly facing cam track designed for sliding contact with the cam track of said fixed cam member, said riding cam member being swingably and reciprocably mounted on said pintle rod and presenting opposite flat side faces positioned to make sliding contact with adjacent inner surface portions of the facing panels of the door body, and a rearwardly projecting spacer rib positioned in guiding relation to the adjacent inner surface of the vertical edge portion of the door body; and means within the door body for applying a camming load to said riding cam member sufficient to effect swinging movement of the door to predetermined residence position.

6. A door combination presenting a door body having side wall forming facing panels secured together in spaced relationship by vertical and horizontal edge portions, and a door operating hinge assembly detachably secured to the door body, said door operating hinge assembly including; a corner reinforcing bracket having a rear vertical leg and a horizontal leg integral with said vertical leg and presenting a horizontal web and a pair of spaced side flange portions, means for detachably securing the vertical and horizontal legs of said corner bracket to adjacent vertical and horizontal edge portions of the door body, and a boss portion integral with said horizontal leg and extending into the door body between said spaced facing panels and having a pintle rod receiving bore; a pintle rod having a shank extending through said bore and between the facing panels of the door body and presenting an outer end portion extending outwardly from said bore; a cam member contained within the door body and fixed to said pintle rod and presenting an upwardly facing cam track; a riding cam member contained within the door body and presenting a downwardly facing cam track designed for sliding contact with the cam track of said fixed cam member, said riding cam member being swingably and reciprocably mounted on said pintle rod and presenting opposite flat side faces positioned to make sliding contact with adjacent inner surface portions of the facing panels of the door body, and a rearwardly projecting spacer rib positioned in guiding relation to the adjacent inner surface of the Vertical edge portion of the door body; and means within the door body for applying a camming load to said riding cam member sufficient to elfect swinging movement of the door to predetermined residence position; each of said cam members being integrally cast from a tough and wear-resistant compound having a low coeflicient of surface friction.

7. A door operating hinge assembly designed to be secured to a door body and operative to automatically return the manually opened door to residence position without vertical movement of the door, said door operating hinge assembly including, a corner reinforcing bracket designed to be secured to the door body and having a horizontal leg presenting a horizontal web and a pair of spaced side flange portions designed to overlap adjacent corner portions of the door body, and a boss portion integral with said horizontal leg designed to extend into the door body and having a pintle rod receiving bore; a normally stationary pintle rod having a shank portion extending through said bore and designed to extend into the door body and on which said corner reinforcing bracket is swingably journaled, and an outer end portion projecting from said shank portion and extending outwardly from said bore and designed to be fixedly secured to an exterior supporting bracket; a thrust bearing supported by the end portion of said pintle rod and designed to swingably support said corner reinforcing bracket; a cam member of cylindrical cross-section fixed to the shank portion of said pintle rod and presenting a cam track at the inner end thereof, and a riding cam member separate from said corner bracket and swingably and reciprocably mounted on said pintle rod, said riding cam member having a head section presenting a complementary cam track designed for sliding contact with the cam track of said fixed cam member and a skirt section presenting a cylindrical bore embracing said fixed cylindrical member and journaled thereon, said riding cam member presenting opposite slide faces designed to make sliding contact with adjacent slide faces provided by interior surfaces of the door body; and a helical compression spring telescoped over said pintle rod and operative to apply a camming load on said riding cam member to thereby maintain said complementary cam tracks in pressure contact and to exert sufficient pressure on the door when manually swung to opened position to thereby swing the opened door to a predetermined residence position without vertical movement of the door.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 453,503 Rieckert June 2, 1891 2,246,086 Austin June 17, 1941 2,306,025 Roby Dec. 22, 1942 2,604,654 Anderson et al. July 29, 1952 2,876,874 Benham Mar. 10, 1959 2,904,824 Kuehl Sept. 22, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 16,540 Great Britain Aug. 1, 1896 

